Wings spread wide and angled upward, both primaries fully extended like the bird just pushed off water. Upper wing surface is where most of the colour work sits. Golden-tan primaries fan out across the top, then a strip of royal blue speculum feathers cuts across the mid wing, bright and clean, the kind of blue that pops in real feathers and holds up just as well in thread. Below the speculum the underwing goes pale grey into white. Twenty-three colours to get all that right and honestly it needed every one of them. Ive digitised bird designs for years and a mallard with fewer than 20 colours always looks flat on the wing plumage.
Head is deep teal-green satin with a yellow bill and a white collar ring separating it from the chest. Chest is rich red-brown, dense satin fill, then the belly goes lighter as it tucks back. Feet are pulled up behind the body, just the suggestion of orange legs trailing. Its the kind of mallard portrait where you can tell the digitiser actually knew birds, not just worked off a flat photo. Feather direction in each fill section follows the real growth angle, so when the thread catches the light the whole thing looks right.
Nine sizes, 3.5 by 3.48 inches up to 7.5 by 7.45. Density is moderate at 809 stitches per square inch which keeps the stitch-out manageable at 45k on the big size. Use a medium cutaway on canvas and heavy denim, light cutaway on shirt-weight cotton. Float a topping layer on textured fabric so the fine speculum detail doesnt sink. Run at 700 to 800 SPM, the colour changes are frequent but the segments are short. A customer running a small hunting gear shop ordered the large size last autumn for a waxed canvas bag and said the blue speculum stripe reproduced exactly as it shows in the preview.
Khaki, olive, navy and dark hunter green are the natural backgrounds. Waxed canvas, denim, fleece and heavy twill all work. White looks sharp too if you want a more graphic feel rather than the traditional outdoor look. Avoid loose-weave fabrics without a cutaway backing or the fine feather lines wont hold.
Email the shop if the speculum blue looks off on your machine and Ill realign the stitch start.
What people are using this design for
A starting point. The design works for plenty more than just this list, this is what folks have stitched it onto most.
- Hunting jacket back or chest panelPut the large size on the back of a waxed canvas hunting jacket and the teal head reads from a distance across a field
- Outdoor sports cap front embroideryUse the 4-inch size on a khaki or olive cap front where the wing spread fits neatly within the panel
- Canvas gear bag for a waterfowl hunterStitch on heavy canvas and use it as a personalised gear bag for duck hunting season
- Fishing or hunting vest breast pocketPlace the small size on a hunting vest breast pocket, tight enough to be a subtle badge rather than a bold statement
- Wildlife-themed throw pillow coverCentre on a navy or hunter green pillow cover for a cabin sitting room where the wildlife palette fits naturally
- Nature journal canvas cover embroideryEmbroider on the front of a hardcover canvas journal for someone who does nature sketching or bird watching
- Mens work shirt chest pocket detailUse the medium size on the chest pocket panel of a mens canvas work shirt for a heritage-brand look
- Lodge or cabin cushion setMake a matched pair on two cushions for a lodge-style living room, one on olive and one on dark canvas
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.50 × 3.48 in | 17,508 |
| 4.00 × 3.97 in | 20,504 |
| 4.50 × 4.47 in | 23,689 |
| 5.00 × 4.97 in | 27,074 |
| 5.50 × 5.47 in | 30,398 |
| 6.00 × 5.96 in | 33,720 |
| 6.50 × 6.46 in | 37,700 |
| 7.00 × 6.96 in | 41,320 |
| 7.50 × 7.45 in | 45,214 |
Files & Formats
Eight machine formats included in one zip. Whichever your machine reads, its in the pack.
Plus a color chart for thread matching. See full format guide.
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About the artist
Reyazul Masud Riham, hand-drawing every design on this site
Every design on Re Embroidery is hand-digitized by one person. Each file gets sketched, color-matched, and stitch-tested on real fabric before it earns a place in the shop. No team. No auto-conversion from images. Just slow, deliberate work, sometimes three or four days per design.
That's the joy I work for.
The hard part is finding my designs re-uploaded and resold elsewhere. So when you buy from Re Embroidery, you're paying one real person for the file you're about to download. That matters.
